Phonograph



sept. e, 193s. '6, WHWE 2,129,612

PHONOGISAPH Filed July 14, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. A. WHITE PHONOGRAPHsept. 6, 193s 4 sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 14, 1934 Sept. 6, 1938. G, A.WHITE v 2,129,612

PHONOGRAPH l Filed July 14, 1934 4 sheets-sheet s Sept 6 1938- G'; A.wHm-z 2,129,612

PHONOGRAPH Filed July 14, 15:54 4 sheets-sheet 4 65e/07e will@ PatentedSept. 6, 1938 l l. I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHONOGRAPH.

George A. White, Philadelphia, Pa., asslgnor to Lloyd H. Smith, Houston.Tex.

Application July 14, 1934, serian No. 735,118

'1 claims.' (ci. 214-10) f This invention relates to a phonograph andmaining from the stack. lIn the prior mechaparticularly to a phonographembodying mechanism, however, manual intervention was necesnism forautomatically changing records. sary to prevent a continuous replayingof this The present invention is concerned primarilylast record. Inaccordance with the present in- =5 with a type of record changingmechanism of vention, after the last recordisplayed and an in- 5 thecharacter disclosed in my prior applications effective record changingcycle takes place, the Ser. Nos. 462,456 and 537,353, filed June 20,1930 phonograph is stopped. vMeans are provided, and May 14, 1931,respectively. Y however, so that replaying of the last record may In thelast mentioned application there is disbe effected, if desired, bymanipulation of a switch closed a phonograph in which a plurality ofrecduring its first playing. Repetition of the play- 10 ords are stackedupon a turntable, and means for ing of any other record of the stack mayalso be removing the records individually from the stack eiected byrendering inoperative the record after they are played, said meanscomprising changing mechanism. more particularly a device in the natureof a These and other objects of the invention 'rewedge adapted topenetrate between the upperlating particularly to details ofconstruction will 15 most recordand the one lying immediately belowbecome apparent from the following description it and arranged, byreaction upon the lower recread in conjunction with the accompanyingord, to be raised to force the uppermost record drawings, in which: to aposition clear of a pin extending through the Fig. 1 is a plan view ofthe improved phono-` records of the stack. One of the primary objectsgraph mechanism anda suitable cabinet there- 20 of the present inventionis the provision of a for; somewhat similar record removing -mechanismFig, 2 is a vertical section'showing the relationwhich is capable ofremoving records in a miniship of the phonograph turntable andassociated mum of time and with a smooth, noiseless action, parts to apreferred form of cabinet arranged for l and the expenditure of Verylittle time. The last the reception of discharged records;

characteristic of the mechanism of the present Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection of the improved o invention isparticularly important in thatthere mechanism with various parts underneath the is not required foroperation a motor any more supporting plate viewed in plan, the majorporpowerful than that normally used for eifecting tion of this platebeing removed and its outline rotationy of the records during playing.alone indicated; 30

Further objectsof the invention relate to the Fig. 4 is arear elevationof the mechanism, means for properly handling the tone arm so "ascertain parts being omitted for clearness; to position it for playingsuccessive records fol- Figs. 5 and 6 are detailed plans with certainlowing removal of those previously played. The parts shown in sectionillustrating particularly tone arm controlling mechanism is furthermorethe means for insuring the location of the tone 35 such that the tonearm will properly cooperate arm in proper position at the beginning 0frecords with diierent size records and may also be loof Various sizes;

cated readily in an inactive position so that free Fig. 'l is a verticalsection taken on the` plane access may be had for forming a new stack-ol indicated at 1-1 in Fig. 3, various parts being 40 records upon theturntable. f omitted for clearness; 40

Another object of the invention is the pro- Fig. 8 is a side elevationofthe mechanism with vision of means whereby an attempt to stop thecertain parts omitted; operation of the mechanism will normally bein-Figs. 9 and 10 are VieWS Similar t0 Fig. 8 bili? Of effective if arecord changing cycle is in progress. a .diagrammatic nature indicatingvarious steps hs a result of this feature of the invention, if the inthe removal of a played record; 45 switch normally provided to break themotor cir- Fig. 11 is a wiring diagram illustrating the recuit wereopened while a record changing cycle lationship of certain switches withthe motor conis going on., the motor would continue to. operate trolcircuit;

un'til the topmost record has been removed and Figs. 12 and 13 arefragmentary Plan VieWS thetone arm is repositioned to play the nextshowing successive steps in the operation of a record. l modied form ofrecord changing mechanism;

The apparatus of the present case resembles Figs. 14 and 15 areelevations of the same that of the last named priorV application in thatshowing the' parts respectively in the positions the record changingmechanism is ineffective to illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13;

remove from the turntame the last record re- Fis- 16-is afragmentaryelevation 0f diasrami5 matic nature showing a further modified form ofrecord changing elements; i A

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary elevation of similar nature showing anothermodied'form of record changing elements; and

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary elevation of a further modified form of recordchanging elements.

The phonograph is housed in a suitable cabinet conventionallyillustrated at 2. If the phonograph is to form an individual unit, thiscabinet may be of suitable small size. On the other hand, if, as isgenerally preferred, the phonograph is to be used in combination with aradio set, then a portion of the radio cabinet, preferably the upperportion, is used to form the phonograph housing. The cabinet, whateverform it may take, is preferably provided with a cover 4 which is ofsuitable height to clear the tone arm and pick-up unit when the same isheld in an inoperative position as indicated in Fig. 2. Within thecabinet a suitable supporting arrangement is provided as shown at 6 forcarrying the plate 8, on which are mounted all of the operating parts.This plate may form a closure for a housing, provided by theconstruction indicated at 6, for the motor and those parts of themechanism which are desirably kept invisible.

At the side of the mechanism the cabinet is provided with a portionhaving a sloping bottom I0 for the reception of different records. Aswill be clear hereafter, the records are moved off the stack sidewiseand consequently the upright walls located at the outer and rearwardportions of the sloping bottom I0 are preferably covered with somesoft'material indicated at I2 which will prevent possible damage to therecords as they are removed, thecovering of the rearward portion beingprovided to prevent damage if the records should strike it. The bottomI0 may also be covered with Asome suitable soft material, indicated atI4, to prevent accidental damage to the lowermost record of thediscarded stack. The' later discarded records, slide down the surfaceofthe first to be discarded and are not subjected to possible damage, itbeing found that records may be slid over each other without anydetrimental effect to the sound grooves.

For the purpose of 'both' turning the record supporting table and alsooperating the record changing mechanism, there is provided a motor,indicated at I6,' from whichv there extends the spindle I8 serving torotate the turntable 20. This turntable may be connected to the shaft I8in the usual fashion, rendering possible slippage in case of undueresistance to turning exerted upon the table. Such arrangements areusually provided for safety to prevent damage. The motor I6 is shown asof a type provided with a rotating sleeve surrounding the shaft I8, thisrotating sleeve 22 lbeing provided, in the present instance, withupwardly extending projections serving to act as pinion teeth. The motoris preferably of a synchronous or induction type of the character nowcommonly in `use in phonographs, being capable of imparting to theturntable alternative speeds of 78 or 335/3` R. P.' M. The change inspeed is accomplished through -a suitable clutch control indicated at24, operated by means of a lever 26 accessible above the plate 8. In thetype of motor here illustrated, the shaft I8 has imparted to it eitherof the alternative speeds depending upon the type of record which isbeing played, the high speed of rotation being suitable for the ordinaryrecords, while the 'low speed of rotation is used for the long-playingtype of records. While the shaft I8 is capable of rotation at the twospeeds, the sleeve 22 rotates constantly at the lower speed, which, inthe case of a synchronous motor, is substantially exactly 33% R. P. M.,or, in the case of an induction motor whose speed may be varied throughsuitable governing mechanism, is approximately this same speed. Therecord changing mechanism is driven from the sleeve 22 and consequentlyoperates to perform its cycle in approximately the same timeirrespective of the type of record which is being played.

In the embodiment illustrated, the records are stacked on the turntablevwithout any means clamping them downwardly, the weight of the recordsproducing sufficient friction to provide proper rotation when thepressure of the needle on the topmost record is light as is now the casewith modern pickups feeding into vacuum tube amplifiers. If, however, itis necessary to provide clamping because of excessive needle drag, aclamping arm may be brought down upon the stack to exert resilientpressure thereon, such arm being of the general type indicated in myprior applications, where,- however, there are involved other functionsfor such arms.

The record changing mechanism is operated directlyfrom a gear 28provided with suitable teeth to mesh with the projections on the sleeve22. One revolution of this gear 28 determines a single record changingcycle. 'I'he gear 28 is carried by a suitable hub 30 and is mounted forrotation about an axle sliding relatively to a pin 32 carried by theplate 8. Normally during the operation of the mechanism the gear 28 ismaintained in an upper position out of mesh with the teeth on the sleeve22, as illustrated in Fig. 8.

'I'he tone arm 84 carries a pick-up 36 and is suitably counterbalancedand weighted I by weights 38 located on the side of the pivot 48opposite the pick-up 36. These counterweights and additional weightsserve not only to cause the needle to exert the proper pressure upon therecords, but also serve to increase the moment of inertia of the tonearm to such extent that the motion imparted to the needle by the soundgrooves will not impart any imperceptible swaying to the pick-up unit 36and consequently maximum effectiveness is attained. 'I'he pivot 40 istransversely mounted in a structure carried at the upper end of the tonearm. Spindle 42,

which passes downwardly through a suitable bearing 44 secured to theplate 8, is hollow to provide for the passage therethrough of the leadwires 43 from the pick-up unit. These pass, in the usual fashion, to theamplifier, which may consist of the audio stages of ya radio set withwhich the phonograph may be associated.

At its lower end the shaft 42 carries an arm 48 having' a down-turnedend 48 (which may be laterally adjustable) adapted to engage a trippingmember hereafter described. There is se'- cured to the arm 46 a pawlmember 50 whose functions will be hereafter noted.

swinging'movements are imparted to the tone arm in a yielding fashion byconnection, with an arm 52 carried thereby, of springs 54 and 5l. Thefirst mentioned spring 54 is a quite light one and is adapted merely toimpart to the tone arm a slight clockwise force to cause it to enter thefirst portion of the groove of a record without, however, causing it tojump over the grooves. 'I'he spring is of such length that it is capableof exerting such force only when the needle is in v the outer portion ofa record groove. It is pro- 4lli vided'wlth a slotted or looped end Ilso that it exerts its efforts only to move the tone arm clockwise anddoes not prevent counterclockwise movements. 'I'he spring 56 is asubstantially stronger one and is connected with an elongated link 60engaging an opening in the end portion ofl a leafspring 60, which issecured to a hub 62 carried by an upright shaft 64 having asuitablebearing in the plate 8. The connections of this shaft are notedbelow.

The tone arm carries a downwardly extending element 66 which, byengagement with a suitable stop, is adapted -to limit outward movementsof the tone arm so as to cause or position it to enter the grooves ofboth 10. and 12 inch records. 'I'he plate 68 is secured to the plate 8by screws passing through slots 1| whereby adjustment is provided, andoverlies an arcuate slot providing clearance for the Aelement 66.Pivoted on the plate'68 at 68 there is a lever 10 which is adapted to beadjusted between positions limited by stop pins 12 and 14, the lever 10being yieldingly retained in its adjusted position by the provision ofnotches 16 in the upper-surface of the plate 68, into which there isyieldingly projected a pin backed up by a spring housed within thehollow handle 18 secured to lthe lever 10. This detent means is of wellknown form and 'need not be described. It serves'to prevent theaccidental outer end 80 which serves as one of alternative abutments forthe element 66 'as the tone varm is rocked counter-.clockwise oroutwardly to position above the outermost portion of the groove of a.record, or preferably above the rim of the record outside such groove.The alternative stop is provided by the edge 82 of the plate 68. Whenthe lever islinl the position indicated in Fig. 5, the tone arm will bevlimited in its outward movement at a position corresponding to thelocation of the needle above the rim of a 10- inch record. On the otherhand, when ,the lever 10 is in the position indicated in Fig. 6, thelimited position of the tone arm will be such that the needle would beabove the rim of a 12-nch record. The plate 88 is further provided witha notch 84 adapted to receive the element 66 and hold the tone ann in aninoperative position as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. It may be held inneedle at the beginning of a record.

Ahorizontal pivot pin 86 is provided atthe upper end of the shaft 64 andserves forA the support of members 88 and 84, which act upon the edgesof records to effect their removal. These members areprovided withnested hubs mounted on pivot pin 86. The element 88 has the form bestindicated by reference to the figures of the drawing, and is in thenature of a wedge having a point 80 and a tail portion 82 which, at itsextreme inner end, is turned inwardly and upwardly as' indicated at 83.It will be noted' that the element 88 has an upwardly convex edge behindpoint 80 on which the uppermost record rides during removal. The member84 is provided at its forward end with a downwardly vextending slopingportion 86 which is normally held inl overlapping relationship with thepoint 80 of the wedge 88, as indicated in Fig. 8. sloping portion 86 hasa shouldered portion indi- .This

cated at I'I to permit propercooperationwith records of slightlydifferent diameters. as occur in the products of different recordmanufacture ers. The distance between point 80 and shoul- -der 81 may befinely adjusted by reason ofthe provision of a bracket 80 carried by themember 88, with'which contacts an adjustable screw |00 threaded intoa-bracket |02 carried by the member 84. A spring |04wound about theoutermost hub on the pivot pin 86 serves to urge 'the mein* 4bers 80 and84 together to bring theset-screw |00 in contact with the bracket'98.The lower .position of the members indicated in Fig. 8 is ""maintainedonly because of the fact thattheir weight is primarily at one'side ofthe pivot 86 and is not due to any action ofthe spring |04. Theirlowermost normal position indicated in Fig'. 8 is limited by engagementof -a suitable portion of the member 84 with a part of the upper end ofthe shaft 64. The tail Aportion |05 of the member 84 'serves to permitthe members 84 and 88 to be moved upwardly and remain in the positionindicated in dotted lines in Fig'. 4.. As will be evident hereafter,when the parts 'are so positioned the changing mechanism may passthrough a cycle without removinga record. This results in the repetitionof playing of the topmost record.

c The portions of the member 86 and tail 82 of wedge 80 which contactwith the records are smoothly rounded, and it is found that even thoughthese parts are made of metal no marks on the records result, in spiteof the fact that during removal operations they wipe over the recordsurfaces. This may be ascribed to the fact that the' records as nowconstructed are of abra# sive character as compared with metals and are.

curvature that in no case can they sink to any appreciable extent withinthe soundgrooves.

Av spring |06 reacts between a pin fixed to the plate 8 and a link|08vto bring'into contact with a stop pin I0 an arm I2 to which the linkis pivoted, which arm is secured to the shaft 64. 'Ihe other end of thelink |08 is pivoted to the arm ||8 of a lever ||4 pivoted upon a pin ||6carried by the plate 8. Arranged to cooperate with the lever ||4 to movethe same is a pin |20 secured to the gear 28 and extending upwardlytherefrom.

Underlying the lever ||4 there is a lever |22 pivoted at |24 to theplate 8 and provided on the opposite side of the pivot.with an arcuateportion |26 approximately concentric with the spindle 42 and adapted toengage the element 66 and, through such engagement, lift the tone arm tocarry its needle away from the uppermost record. The lever |22 isarranged to be rocked by contact with a cam- |28 in the form of anupright arcuate plate carried by the gear 28. during operation the lever||4 is above the level of the cam |28 and is therefore not engaged pthereby, the pin |20 extending substantially above this cam so as toengage thelever ||4.A

For clarity, it may be pointed out that in an upper position out of meshwith the gear formed on the sleeve 22. The lever |34 carries a pin |38which normally rests on a shoulder |4| provided, together with a slopingportion |39, at the end of a lever |40 pivoted at |42 to the plate 8`andnormally urged ina counterclockwise direction, as viewed in plan, by a.spring |44 which reacts between it and the lever |34, serving also tohold the pin |38 of the latter in the notch |4|` in lever |40. The lever|34 has an arm extension |46 which is engageable by a downwardlyextending pin |48 secured to the gear 28 to rock the lever |34 againstthe tension of spring |44 and restore it to its proper position.

Secured horizontally to the lever |40 is a rigid lever |52 having anextension |54 on the opposite side of the pivot, to which is connecteda, spring |56 normally urging the serrated portion |58 of the lever '|52upwardly so that it may be engaged with the pawl member 50, previouslyreferred to as carried by the arm 46. 'I'he upward movement of |52 issuitably limited by stop |59 lso that it will be normally engageable bythe pawl member as the tone arm vmoves inwardly. The serrations |58 arein the form of ne teeth which point upwardly to the right as `viewed inFig. 4. The purpose of this will be made evident hereafter.

Switch contacts |60 are carried by a post |62 and are located below thegear 28 so that when the gear occupies itsA upper position they are notengaged thereby and remain out of contact with each other, but when thegear 28 drops into mesh with the gear sleeveA 22, the contacts |60 areengaged with each other to close the circuit through the motor I6, asindicated inl the diagram of Fig. 11.

A lever |64 pivoted at |66 and urged clockwise, as viewed in plan, by aspring |68 into contact with a stop |10, extends behind the lever 12 of`a conventional snap switch, indicated at |14, which is in the motorcircuit in parallel with the switch |60. Another snap switch'l16 is inparallel with switches |60 and |14. By reason of the parallel'connections, it will be obvious that when any of the switches is closed,the motor will be energized.

'I'he lever |64 is so formed as to be engaged by the inward extension 93of the tail 92 of the wedge 88 when the wedge moves in without riding upon any record, as is the case when only one record remains on theturntable at the initiation of a record removing cycle. This engagementof the extension 93 with the lever |64 is adapted to move the lever |12of switch |14 to its open position. The switch |12 is that normallyadapted to Abe manually manipulated to start and stop the operations ofthe phonograph.

I', |60 remains open while the switch |12 is closed AThe switch |16 ismerely provided for the purto secure continued operation of the motorI6. The switch |16 will, in' general, be open.

There are in general use at the present time two types of records withrespect to the condition of the end portion of the groove. These twotypes of records are adapted to function in different ways to produceautomatic stopping o1' conventional phonographs. In one type ofrecord,the end portion of the groove is approximately circular but eccentric tothe hole in the center of the record. The result of this construction isto produce an oscillation of the tone arm when it reaches the end of thegroove. In this type of record the distance from the center of theclosest portion of the end of the groove may vary substantially,depending upon the extent of groove taken up by the recording. In theother type oi' record, the ilnal portion of the groove is a circleconcentric to the hole. In this case, however, the circle is ofrelatively small diameter and is arranged to insure a movement of thetone arm to an inner position beyond that ever attained by the portionof the groove in which recording has taken place.

The construction herein described is'such that removal of a topmostrecord .occurs when the needle enters the inner portion of a groove ofeithertyp. If the eccentric type of end groove is provided, theninitiation of the record change is effected through the coaction of thepawl 50 with the serrations |58 on the lever |52. As the tone arm movesinwardly, the pawl 50 rides freely over these serrations and, since theresultant friction tends to press the lever |40 against the pin |38,nothing occurs. However, as soon as the motion of the tone arm isreversed, the pawl 50 locks into one of the serrations of `lever |52 androcks the lever |40 clockwise, as viewed in plan, to cause it todisengage `the pin |38.

In the case of the :latter type of' record, the same release of the pin|38 is achieved when the downward projection 48 of lever 46 strikes andmoves clockwise the' lever |40.

As a result of either type of operation, the pin |38 is released fromshoulder |4| and the lever |34 rides clockwise under the action ofspring |44,

moving the pin |32 from beneath the high portion of cam |30.- The gear28 then drops of its own weight into mesh with the pinion formed on thesleeve 22 and rotation of the gear commences, initiating the removalcycle. 28 drops, the switch |60 is closed so that even though the switch|12 may be opened manually, the removal operation will continue untilits end.

As the pin |38 moves with the lever |34, it engages the sloping cam face|38 of lever |40 and rocks'the lever to an extent causing serrations |58to clear the inner end of pawl 50. The tone arm is then free to swing ineither direction without causing contact between pawl 50 and serrationsv|58.

The iirst operation which n ow occurs is the engagement of the cam |28with the lever |22, which is rocked against the tension of the spring|23 and liftsfthe tone arm through engagement with the lever 66. (Thespring |23 may be omitted.) The arrangement is such that the tone arm israpidly lifted by the end of the cam |28 and isthereafter held at asubstantially constant elevation for a considerable portion of theremoval cycle.

Immediately afterthe tone arm is lifted, the pin |20 engages the'lever 4producing, through the link |08, a counter-clockwise oscillation of theshaft 64 andthe members 88 and 94 which As the gear -andthe next record,R2.

it carries. During this oscillation of the shaft 64, tension is appliedto the link 58 and spring 66 which, during the lifting of a record,serve-t rotate the tone arm counter-clockwise to a position determinedby the location of the lever 10. If this lever occupies the positionshown in Fig. 5, the tone arm is arrested at a position which willvbring its needle above the edge portion of a 'ten-inch record. If, onthe other hand, the parts are positioned as in Fig. 6, the needle willbe brought to a position above the edge of a twelve-inch record.

yIn the meantime, the member is cammed upwardly, lifting with it thewedge 88 by reason of the spring connection |04, the point 90 of thiswedge occupying a xed position relative to the member 94 because of thesetting of the screw |00. vThe setting, is such that when the point 90reaches the periphery of the records it will be positioned by itsrelationshipto the sloping edge 96 at a level such that further inwardmovement will cause it to penetrate between the uppermost record,designated R1, These records have rounded edges and at the'v time thepoint 90 reaches them they are rotating so that the penetration by point90 between the records readily takes place. Due to the provision ofshoulder 91, there is a hesitation in the rise for a small part of theinward movement whereby provision is made for proper cooperation betweenrecords of slightly different diameter. Fig. 9 represents the conditionof the parts immediately after lpenetration has taken place. 'Therelationships between the members 88 and 94 can now no longer bemaintained and consequently 94 yields'upwardly relative to 88vaspermitted by the springy |04. fAs further arcuate movement occurs, thelower portion of 96 passes in an arc over the top of the uppermostrecord R1, while the tail 92 of the wedge 88 ridges up over the edge ofthe record R2, and by reason of the wedging action, lifts the record R1free from the -upper end of pin 2|.. The continued movement of the wedge88 may carry the lowermost portionof the tail '92 over the surface ofthe record Ra. Consequently it is necessary for the metal to becarefully rounded at the Abottom lof the slope '96 above the point 90and atthe lower end of the tail portion 92 of the wedge It will be notedthat the top of the point 90 is made convex upwardly so that as thewedge rides inwardly and the uppermost record slopes, there will bepresented to the undersurface ofthe record R1 only a smooth surfacewhich will not cause l The actionsofy the members 88, and 94 arelsomewhat different, depending upon whether ten.

ortwelve inch records are being played or the height of the topmostrecord. The 'adjustment of the point 8l, however, isnot critical, .andit 'is found that with a sln'sle adjustment records will be properlylremoved irrespective oftheir sizes or vertical heights above the table2l; -In the case -of the twelve-inch records, there (will, of course,

94 will have :moved to a position where its sloping forward edge 96 willengage the periphery of the top- 'most record. As it moves fartherinwardly, it

be a greater sweep of these partsacross the records, but this is of noconsequence and does not interfere with the proper operation.

During the inward movement of the wedge 88, it will be noted that it 'islifted as soon as the sloping portion 96of member 94 engages a record.The A'lever |64 is positioned so that it will not-be engaged by theextension 93 of the tail 92 when the member 92 rides over a record. Asdescribed below, the action is different when there is only one recordremaining on the table.

As the pin recedes from the lever ||4, the g lever follows it 'until thearm ||2 engages the pin ||0. During this time the members 88 and 94withdraw from the stack of records and the flexible strip. 60 rides intothe link 58, relieving all tension from the spring 56. As was notedabove, the spring 54 is a very light one and is insufcient to cause thetone arm to move clockwise so long -as the element 66 is in friotionalengagement with the arcuate portion |26 of the lever |22. In spite,therefore, of the relief of tension of spring 56, the pickup needleretains its p osition above the edge portion of the 'now topmost yrecord.

The arm 46 will, in the meantime, have been swung counterclockwise to aposition such that -not only does the downturned end 48 pass out'indicated in Fig. 3 with the pin |32 out of the p ath of the cam |30.The pin |48 will now engage extension |46 of lever |34 and rock thislever counter-clockwise to such extent that the pin I38-Awill pass theslope |39 and notch |4| and the lever will ride counter-clockwise to aposition wherein its notched portion engages the pin |38. As the pin |48then leaves engagement with the extension |46, the lever |34 will beheld lnvits original position in notch |4| with the pin |32 located inposition to engage the cam |30 as it approaches.

As the gear 28 approaches the end of its revolution', the cam |28disengages the lever |22, permitting the tone arm to settle slowly sothat its needle engages. the edge portion of the topmost record betweenits periphery and the beginning of the groove. The light spring 54 whichwas heretofore'exerting insufficient tension to move the tone armbecause of the friction between 66 l and |26, may now urge the tone arminwardly as the record revolves and the needle rides on the smoothportion of the edge. This action continues until the needle drops in thegroove. The light tension ofthe spring 54 is insufilcient to cause theneedle to jump from the groove into an adjacent groove, but insuresmerely such slight movement of the tone arm` as will causen proper entryofthe needle into the uppermost turn of the groove.

Following this action the gear 28 reaches 'a position in which the cam|30 rides over the pin |32. The gear is so disengaged from the drivingpinion and comes torest in its initial position.4 The playing of thetopmost record then takes place.'

The continued closure of switch |66 insures completion of the recordchanging cycle even though the switch |12 may have been opened.

If switch I'|2 was opened during the cycle, then be in the outermostportion of the record groove,

being in general in that portion of the groove in which no recording hastaken place so that playing of the record will not begin. It isdesirable to prevent stopping of operation during the record -changingcycle since during the cycle the motor is overloaded and may not be ableto start if, for example, the wedge is between records or the pickup isbeing raised. 'I'he induction motors ordinarily used do not have largestarting torques and may under such conditions fail to st'art, althoughwell able to take care of the load whenoperatlng near normal speed.

The above described operation is conditioned upon the presence of atleast two records upon the table 20 when the record changing cyclebegins. If only one record remains on the table, there will be no recordbelow it upon which the wedge 88 may ride, the table 20 having a,

diameter substantially less than the diameter of a ten-inch record, sothat it will not be engaged by the wedge 88 upon its inward arcuatemovef ment. As a consequence, when only one record remains on the table,the point 90 of the wedge will ride under it and will not tend to liftthe record at all, Consequently the cycle of operation takes place andthe tone arm will be taken back to the beginning of this last record butno removal of the record will occur. In the arrangement shown, however,there does occur one additional operation, namely, the automatic openingof the main switch ||2 by the engagement of the extension 93 of the tail92 with the lever |64. This occurs because the wedge 88 is not nowlifted and a downwardly extending portion of the lever |34 is inposition to be engaged by the extension 93. The position of the lever|64 is such that as the extreme movement of the shaft 64 occurs, theswitch arm |12 is moved past midposition and snaps to open the switch|14. -It`will be noted that this opening occurs during the recordvchanging cycle, at which time the switch |80 is closed in parallel with|14. 'Ihe motor accordingly is not immediately stopped, but continues tooperate until the end of the cycle. The machine then stops with theneedle in thel outer portion of the groove'of the last record.

The repetition of the playing of any record may be effected merely byswinging the members 94 and 88 to the position indicated in .dottedlines in Fig. 4. At the end of a record, the tone arm will then be movedback to the beginning of the record but no removal of the record willoccur. The repetition of the last record can, ofcourse, be accomplishedin the same fashion. It may be desired, however, to have a series ofrecords played without repetition but to have the last record playedautomatically repeatedly until such time as the machine is manuallystopped. In such case the members 94 and y80 may be let down in theirnormal record removing position but the switch |16 may be closed. Themachine will then discard all of the records until the last, whereuponthe last will be repeatedly played, until some manual intervention ismade.

Manual discard of any record may be accompllshed merely by manuallylifting the tone arm, moving it inwardly until the pawl 50 catches theserrated portion of the lever |52 andthen moving it-outwardly, or bymoving it inwardly until 48 engages |40, whereupon the record changingmechanism may be tripped into action. Alternatively, if desired, apusher may be pro.

.gagement with a stop pin 2| 6.

moves inwardly, the depending 'arm of 214 er1-- vided to engage and tripthe lever |40. Such type of operation is indicated in my priorapplication Ser. No. 537,353. An alternative form of wedge arrangementis indicated in Figs. 12 t'o 15. inclusive. In this arrangement, anupright shaft |80, corresponding to 64, supports an arm |8|corresponding to 94 and having a sloping forward edge |82, and a secondarm |84 corresponding to 88, the two arms being urged towards each otherby a suitable spring and being adjustable in their relative relationshipby a set-screw, as in theprevious modification. In this case, however,there is journalled in the outer end of the arm |84 a'shaft |86 whichcarries a double wedge indicated at |88 and a crank arm or disc |90, apin on which is connected with a link |92 which is slotted at itsopposite end, as indicated at |34, to embrace a pin |96 which may haveauniversal mounting. as indicated at |98. A spring 200 normally urgesthe link |92 forwardly as viewed in Fig. 12, to cause the wedge toassume a substantially horizontal position as determined by engagementof a pin 20| with the lever |84. In this arrangement, due to the slottedlink connection, as the shaft oscillates the wedge moves horizontally,guided by the slope |82 into a position between the uppermost and nextrecords. As the motion continues further, the link |92 is arrested bythe pin |96 and consequently there is produced a rocking of the shaft|86 causing-the wedge to assume an upright position, therebysubstantially raising the uppermost record relative to the lowermostone. The removal then takes place in a fashion-similar to thatpreviously described. 'This arrangement is adapted for use where it isdesired to conserve space behind the record stack.

Considerable variation in details of this arrangement is possible: forexample, a rounded and pointed rod having a laterally projecting pin mayreplace wedge |68 and rocking may be effected by a cam.

Another alternative form of arrangement desired to conserve space isillustrated in Fig. 16, this arrangement being similar to 'the firstdescribed above, consisting of a shaft 202 similar to 64, a guide arm204 similar to 94, and a wedge carried by n arm corresponding to 88, thewedge 205.being ouble-edged as indicated in this figure so thatsubstantial rise of the edge of the topmost record is produced forrelatively level angular travel. The primary objection to this type ofarrangement is that a substantial amount of effort must be' exerted bythe motor to secure its operation. If, however, a motor of ample size isprovided, it may be used. In both the last-named modifications some riseof the last record may occur, insufficient, however, to cause it toclear the pin.

Still another modification is shown in Fig. 17, in which the guide 208 of the same form as the guides heretofore described, cooperates to lift awedge 210 which has relatively little vertical extent, Pivoted on thiswedge at 2| 2 is a bellcrank 2|4 held upwardly by a spring 2|6 in en- Asthe wedge gages the edge of the second record and the normallyhorizontal arm rocks downwardly to engage this record producing a rapidrise of the wedge to lift the topmost record.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. 18. In this case the guide220 is pivoted on a pin 2 24 extending laterally over the shaft'226.correspond-V ing to the shaft 42 of the first modification. f 'I'he pin224 also supportsrthe wedge A228. Positioned anaemia member 220 as inthe preceding modiilcation, has

penetrated to a substantial distance within the periphery of the recordsand vhas risen by reaction between the uppermost records to apredetermined height, the lower edge of the arm 232 will engagethe topof the cam slope 230 whereupon the cam will cause a more rapid rise ofthe wedge than is occasioned by its action on the underlying record, sothat it will clear the underlying record, leaving it free fromfrictionalrestraint and hence rotating at full speed when the uppermost record ismoved clear of the pin. While a slight additional load is created due tothe rapid lift, this is balanced by elimination of friction between they wedge o f the former modification and the edge of the record, so thatthe load on the motor is about the same as in the other cases. There isno possibility that failure of removal will occur due to stopping of theunderlying record. Motion of this record is, of course, necesary tothrow oi the topmost one. It will be noted that the lower edge of thecam 230 lies above the arm 232 when the wedge is in its lowermostposition. This is necessary to prevent lifting oi of the last record orpossible jamming. When only one record remains on the turntable, thewedge will move under it as in the case of the preceding modifications,moving also under the cam 230 so as not to engage thesame. Thearrangement is such that the cam 239 cannot be engaged, in any event,until the wedge has risen to such height, even though only two recordsremain on the table, that its lower edge will strike the sloping partoi' the cam and hence be raised thereby without jamming. It may be notedthat this arrangement provides for a substantial rise which may begradrangement herein described need not be provided in the `elaborateform shown, but simpler combinations may be used involving, for example,only the main switch and the switch preventing stopping of operationduring a record changing cycle. Alternatively the main switch alone maybe used so that thephonograph may be stopped during a record changingcycle. The motor may exertv a suilicient starting torque, if properlydesigned, to continue operation even though stop- 'page occurs duringthe `changing cycle; even,

k'Il

however, if the motor has insuflicient starting torque to start fromrest during the changing cycle, the operation maybe manually caused totake place by imparting a push to the turntable or by, for example,momentarily reducing the 'load byl raising the tone arm or wedge,dependa what realm and desire to protect by'reaers Patent is:

l. A phonograph including a pin arranged with its free end uppermost, aturntable for supporting v a plurality of records arranged in a stackfor rotation about the axis of the pin, and means for raising thetopmost record relatively to the next lrecord to clear the pin, saidlast named means including a member movable to penetrate between the twouppermost records and a cam eectivey to lift said member, the memberbeing' arranged in the initial part of its penetrating movement toengage the underlying record and at the end` of such movement to beacted upon by the c'am to `clear the underlying record, said memberbeing arranged to clear said cam unless more than one record remains onthe turntable.

2. A phonograph including a. pin arranged with. its free end uppermost,a turntable maintainedA at a xed height for supporting a 'plurality ofrecords arranged in a stack for rotation about the axis of the pin, andmeans for raising the topmost record relatively to the next record toclear the pin, said last named means including a member penetratingbetween the two uppermost records and turning about an axis extending inthe direction of its penetrating movement.

3. A phonograph including a pin arranged with its free end uppermost, aturntable maintained at a fixed height for supporting a plurality ofrecords arranged in a stack for rotation about the axis of the pin,means for raising the topmost record' relatively to the next record toclear the pin, said last named means including a member penetratingbetween the two' luppermost records and turning about an axis extendingin the direction of its penetrating movement, and means for eiectingsaid turning movement by the cntinued penetrating movement of themember.

4. A phonograph including a pin arranged with its free end uppermost, aturntable maintained at a fixed height for supporting a .plurality ofrecords arranged in a stack for rotation 'about the axis of the pin, andmeans for raising the topmost record relatively to the next record to'clear the pin, said lasti named means including a member penetratingbetween the two uppermost records, and an element movable transverselyto the stack of records engaging the edge of a record and movableupwardly by its transverse movement during such engagement toraise thepenetrating member to lift the topmost record.

5. A phonograph including a pin arranged with its free end uppermost, aturntable for supporting a plurality of rec'ords arranged in a stack forrotation about the axis of the pin,l and means for raising the topmostrecord relatively to the next record to clear the pin, said last namedmeans including a member movable to penetrate between the two uppermostrecords and acam eiective to lift said member, the member beinglarranged in the initial part otits penetrating movement to engage theunderlying record and be lifted thereby and at the end of such movementto ride. upon the cam to clear the underlying record.'

6. A phonograph including a pin arranged with its free end uppermost, afturntable maintained at a fixed height for supporting a plurality ofrecords arranged in a.-v stack for rotation about record relatively tothe next record to clear the pin, said last named means including amember penetrating' between, engaging, and thereby reacting4 between.the two uppermost records to progressively separate them afterpenetration occurs. said reaction continuing throughout the separation,and means` engaging the uppermost record and connected `tothepenetrating member the axis of the pin, means for raising the topmost iacting between, the two uppermost records to progressively separate themafter penetration occurs, said reaction continuing throughout theseparation, and means engaging the uppermost record and connected to thepenetrating member for guiding said penetrating member between Atherecords, said guiding means being designed to initially raise thepenetrating member and then, while the penetrating member maintains asubstantially fixed height, guide it to move further inwardly, wherebyentry is properly eiected in cases of records of diierent diameters.

GEORGE A. WHITE.

